Celtic struck a late winner to overcome KR Reykjavik 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League second-round qualifying match this evening.
The Bhoys almost took an early lead in what was manager Ronny Deila's first competitive match in charge of the club, but Kris Commons's volley from 25 yards crashed off the crossbar.
Commons had another go from range shortly afterwards and once again caused problems with a decent strike, but this time Stefan Logi Magnusson was able to make the save.
The chances continued to come for the visitors as Efe Ambrose latched on to the resulting corner, only to see his effort cleared off the line by Aron Bjarki Josepsson.
KR had a chance of their own midway through the first half, but Fraser Forster was equal to Gary Martin's effort after the English striker had been slipped through by Baldur Sigurdsson.
Celtic almost grabbed the elusive opener just three minutes after the restart when Leigh Griffiths teed up Commons, but this time the prolific midfielder fired his shot wide.
Commons continued to look most likely for the visitors and came close twice in quick succession as he first missed the target before then drawing a save from Magnusson.
The Bhoys were left cursing their luck once more shortly after the hour mark when Griffiths's effort smashed off the underside of the crossbar before bouncing down and out.
They had an even better chance in the 77th minute as Magnusson parried a Commons effort into the path of Teemu Pukki but, with an open goal to aim at, the sub somehow struck the post.
Having hit the woodwork three times, Deila's side finally got the breakthrough with six minutes of normal time remaining as Callum McGregor beat a couple of defenders before drilling a low strike past Magnusson for a goal on his competitive debut for the club.
That was enough for the Bhoys to claim the victory, putting them in the driving seat ahead of the second leg next week.
Barney Corkhill
